Lifting jack



B. PHILLIPS LIFTING JACK Feb. 13, 1945.

Filed Feb. 2, 1944 INVENTOR. Benjamin Phi mp5 Patented Feb. 13, 1945 Benjamin Phillips,

Phillips Pump & Tank Company,

Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor t Cincinnati,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application Fe ruary. 2, 1944, Serial No. 520,769

SCIaims. (01; 214-65) This invention relates to a lifting jack, and is concerned primarily with an improvement insuch equipment designed to expedite and facilitate the lifting of aircraft or other vehicles at their wheels. The jack herein disclosed includes :a pair of opposed shoes'to be forced beneath the tire of a wheel .to the extent necessary for. supporting the'wheel and lifting it, while attached to the I vehicle, to an elevation above ground level. I

. One of'the objects of the invention is to provide a lifting jack of the charactenreferred to, which-includes means in the form of opposed shoes so constructed as to avoid pinching or mutilating the vehicle tire as the shoes are projected beneaththe tire to lifting position. g Another object is, to include in the shoe construction, means for reducing to a minimum. the effort and time required; to properly placethe shoes and lift thewheel above ground level. .The foregoing and other objects are'attained for lifting an aircraft tail .wheel. Fig. 3 indicates I Referring to the accompanying drawing, Fi -.1; shows the jack with itsliftingshoes 5 and 6 in a lowered position, slightly above ground level, so thatthe jack as a whole may rest "uponits pairs. of wheels 1 and 8, a'ndbe rolled over the, ground or the surface ,cfarunway, into position the relative .positions of the shoes while supporting the tire 9 ofsuch a wheel. -As,is. readily ap parent, thetire rests upon the shoes with the plane of the tire transverseto the frame of the jack. To dispose the tire upon the supporting areas of the. shoes, the toes of the shoesare drivenbeneath thetire from opposite, sidesthereof, until the tire leaves the groundlor runway and rests upon the upper supporting surfaces or base por-l tions ill of the hoes. In moving onto the shoes by the means described'herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which: 1

.Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lifting jack incorporating the present invention. I Fig.2 is a fragmental plan view taken on line v22 of Fig. 1. a f Fig. .3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sew tional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. .2. I

e Jacks of the character herein referred to are useful for various purposes, one of which i the lifting of aircraft tail wheels to an elevation above ground level, for; leveling the grounded aircraft to approximate flight position. '.-This-1eV- eling of the aircraft while on the ground or runway, is generally. resorted to for the purpose of checking and adjusting the accuracy of the gun-. nery of the aircraft,.as well as such otherequipproper, the tire ascends over the rollers l2, l3, l4 and I5, as the shoesare moved toward each other beneath the tire.

In general, the-apparatus comprises a wheeled main frame including the side members l6 prop erly braced by. means of cross members such, as are indicated at IT, I8 and I9, to maintain a. rigid rectangular condition of. the frame. At its op-- posite ends, the frame is supported upon wheels .1 and a pair of. swivel casters 8. The main frame carriesan hydraulic pump 20 supported upon a bracket 2|, the purpose of which will be ex-: plained.., Near thatend of the frame which carries the wheelsv 1, the main frameis provided witha pair ofleveling screws 22 each including a foot23. adapted to contact the runway as the screws are rotated by means of handles 24, for the purpose of. slightly lifting the wheels 1 and preventing undesirablemovement of the apparatus mentas may be beneficially checked,*adjusted v or installed with the aircraft in flight position.

.In lifting the tail-of an airplane for the purpose specified, it is desirable to apply the lifting force to the tire of thetail wheel. The tires are generally! ofthe pneumatic type, and are fabricated from rubber or rubber-like material, whereforethe-forcingofany' lifting element or wedge between the tire and the runway is performed always at the risk offpinching or mutilating, or

. ptherwisedamagingthe tire. The probabilityof tire damage is effectively eliminated by means of thelpresent invention, while at the same time the-performance of thelifting operationis greatly facilitated andj expedited to advantage, particularly when the airplane is vulnerable to attack while undergoing. servicing'of its equipment:

while in use. The screws pass through nuts 25 fixedlymounted upon the frame sides. In addition to preventing rollingof the apparatus, the screws may serve also as .leveling means for the main frame.

Upon the main frame is pivotally mounted an elevator constituted of a pairof divergent frame members.2621 which are maintained in rigid relationship. by means of suitable reinforcement includingthe truss plate '28.-;-. -The elevator has it pivotal mounting upon a transverse shaft 29. supported by the side members of the, main frame; so that thefree end 30' of the elevator is'movable arcuately .to raisedand lowered positions as it moves aboutthe shaft 29 It is to be understood that the triangular extension member 3| constitutes a. fixed or rigid part of the elevator frame git- 21. The principal parts, such asthe frame gnel nbers 6 -21 3] of the elevator preferably tionary part of the elevator, for example they).

cross-shaft 31, to effect pivotal movement of the elevator frame about the supporting shaft 29.

The lower end of the hydraulic cylinder is pivotally mounted upon the cross piece 18 of the main frame, in a manner well known.

the shaft 42.

- necessary.-

With reference against longitudinal shifting movement in any suitable manner, such as by means of a pin or other limiting means indicated at 58. One end of the screw carries a left hand thread, and the other carries a right hand thread, received in the correspondingly threaded nuts located within the bracket structures 56 of'the opposed shoes. Lever 40 may be flanged as at 59 to impart the necessary strength theretojand the .frame members 26-21 of Fig. 2 may carry proper bearings 60 for Stabilizer rod 49 is by preference provided with suitable clevises Bl, whereby the 'angularity of lever 40 may be adjusted when to the shoes and a, it may be noted that .the bottom or base portions thereof Fromthe foregoing, it will be understood that.

by properly setting the control valve lever 38 of the hydraulic pump, and manipulating the pump" handle-39, the necessary fluid pressure is generated for extending or retracting piston rod-34,. r

to-raise .or lower the free end of the elevator. The free end of the elevator carries the lifting shoe assembly illustrated at the left of i. This assembly comprises a lever 40 having a hub or boss 4| through which extends'the shaft 42 that forms the pivotal mounting for the shoe assembly. A transverse rail or slide 43 is rigidly associated with the lower end of lever 40, and maybe welded or otherwise suitably fixed thereto.

'I' he rail may be braced upon the lever by means of a suitable triangular gusset 44 which establishes the desired rigidity. At the connection be-- tween the lever and the rail, a bracket '45 may be provided, serving to mount a bearing 46 for the right and left hand screw shalt. This shaft may be rotated in opposite directions for moving the shoes 5 and 6 relatively toward and from one another.

The shoe assembly lever it! constitutes part of a stabilizing means provided forthe purpose of maintaining a horizontal conditionof the lifting shoes at all elevated positions of the elevator. The stabilizing means "includes the lever 40, a

fixed upstanding post 48 at the swivel end of :the

main frame and a stabilizer rod 49. One end post 48 at the elevation 50, whereas the opposite end thereof is pivotally connected at 5l'to .the

free end of the pivotedlever 40. The pivots 50, 51, 42 and 28 form a pantograph arrangement of the parts, or a pivotal parallelogram, operating in all raised and loweredpositions of the elevator to maintain the shoes 5 and 6 in a horizontal condition, the guide rail 43 'mearrwhile maintai-riin'g always a vertical disposition of the bearin-g wall 52 for the shoes. v As illustrated by Fig. 2, each of the shoes 5 and I5 "is constituted of an inclined bottom wall ill, a rear wall or heel portion 53, and a pair of side walls 54 and 55, the latter serving as'a'thrust plate operative against the face "of rail -43 to sup port the shoes as shown. At the, upper end of each shoe, and reaching over thegtop of rail .43,

is a fixed bracket 56 which carries a jnut iltting the threads of screw 41, so that-rotation of'the screw by means of a suitable wrench or handle 1 As will be understood, the screw :is rotatably mounted within the bearing 46. and may 'be held slope inwardly and downwardly toward one another, and that eac'h has a heel portion furnished by the-rear wall 53, said heel portion serving as a reinforcement for the inclined bottom or base of each shoe. The toe portion; of shoe 5 includes an extending "bracket 62, likewise inclined, said bracket carrying a pair of spaced parallel shafts B3 and 64 upon which are 'rotatably mounted the rollers I3 and i2,*respectively. 'fI herollers extend in parallelismwiththe'inclined bottom or base It, and reach from one sidewall to the other, of the shoe. The'side walls are indicated at 54 and 55 of Fig. 2. The opposed brackets '62, together with the rollers and their shafts 63 and 64, constitute the leading toe portion of the shoe, and

i the freely rotatable rollers provide for substan tiaily frictionless ventnyof the toe portion beneath the tired of the airplane wheel asthe'shoe is advanced toward the opposite shoei I The opposite shoe *5 carries opposed bracket means "66 supporting the roller shafts 61 and 58, upon whichare mounted for rotational movement the rollers indicated at I4 and I5. Roller i5 is preferablyof thev same dimension as rollers l2 and 13-, but roller 14, which is ahead of roller 15, is of larger diameter than any of the-other rollers. Roller l4 may be considered apilot roller, since its primary function is to gently grip the tire and boost it onto rollers 12 and 1-3 ofthe opposite shoe 5. To aid the gripping and boostingaction of the pilot roller, said roller preferably is fluted or otherwise roughened as indicated at 60.

The operation of the lifting jack is as follows.

Assuming that the :guns of any given airplane are to be tested or adjusted while "the plane is grounded, the lifting jack of Fig. 1 is rolled toward the tail wheel 20f the airplane, with the longitudinal axis of the :machine' disposed per pendicularly to the plane of the wheel. The ele-- vator is disposed-to its extreme lower limit of movement, and the" shoesare separated to the extent necessary :for disposing them at opposite sides of the tire, by actuating the lever 51 which rotates the :shoe adjusting screw 41. With the shoes-disposed at opposite sides of the tire, and

at ground level, the operator proceeds to manip ulate= the; actuating lever-51 for advancing leading toe portions i0: the-Shoes beneath thetadl wheel tire. Continued :advancementlof the shoes causes the fluted or roughened pilot roller M te boost the tire ontothe rollers 12 and 13, thereby lifting the tire slightly andcausing .it to pro, gressively advance onto the base portions-lo er theshoes. As soonas tha'tirle and wheelaresua Ported fully upon the areas 0, the operator may proceed to actuate the hydraulic'pump .2 0 m raising the elevator about itsflpivtitalj.Shaft, with the res ltt t he and. the air l n is liftedto the desired elevation. Topr'eclude accidental and unintentional movement of the lifting'sjack, the leveling screws 22 should then be advanced until-the feet 23 thereof firmly contact I This completes the ground or runway surface. the operation of elevating the tail of the.'airplane.

Upon completion of such servicing as=the airplane may require, the tail wheel may be lowered by reversing the procedure outlined above. That is, theleveling screws 22 first are retracted until the feet thereof leavethe ground or runway surface, and thereafter the hydraulic pump rnay be actuated to relieve the fluidpressure within cylinder 33 at-a slow rate, to effect lowering of the elevator and the shoe assembly by gravity. Upon reaching ground level, the shoes may be retracted or moved apart in opposite directions by means of the reversible ratchet lever 59, until the tire of the tail wheel rests upon the runway. The entire device then may be withdrawn from proximity with the airplane, by simply rolling it to another location.

Ifdesired, the shoe assembly may be provided with suitable depending stops 18 to limit descent of the shoe assembly toward ground level. These stops may be in the form of posts or'uprights rigidly mounted upon the rail 43 that supports the sliding shoes. 7

As will be understood, the device of the invention is susceptible to various modifications and changes in structural details, without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the'claims appended hereto. Such changes and substitutions as are within the skill of the engineer or skilled mechanic, therefore, are intended to be embraced by the claim .terminology in the absence of express limitations to the contrary ap pearing thereon.

What is claimed is:

1. In a lifting jack of the class described, the combination of a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon said frame for movement to elevated and lowered positions, a pair of vehicle wheel engaging shoes carried by the elevator and movable therewith to the elevated and lowered positions, means for shifting the shoes. relatively toward and from one another, each shoe including a base and a leading toe portion, and antifriction means at said toe portions to facilitate projecting the shoes beneath the wheel of a staing a base and a leadingtoeportion disposable substantially=to "ground level, and roller means extending across the toe portionsof the shoes ahead of the shoe bases, for initially contacting a-wheel to be lifted onto the shoe bases as the shoes are moved toward each other substantially at ground level, the roller means of one shoe be: ing'of greater diameter than the roller means of the other shoe; I 4. In a lifting jack of the-class described, the combination of a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon: said frame for movement to elevated and lowered positions, a pair of vehicle wheel engaging shoes carried by the elevator and movable therewith to the elevated and lowered positions, means for shifting the shoes relatively toward and from one another, each shoe including a base and a leading toe portion disposable substantially to ground level, and roller means extending across the toe portions of the shoes ahead of the shoe bases, for initially contacting a wheel to be lifted onto the shoe bases as the shoes are moved toward each other substantially at ground level, the roller means of one shoe havinga roughened wheel-engagin surface of greater area than the roller means of the other shoe.

5. In a lifting jack of the class described, the combination of a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon said frame for movement to elevated and lowered positions, a pair of vehicle wheel engaging shoes carried by the elevator and movable therewith to the elevated and lowered positions, means for shifting the shoes relatively tionary' vehicle for ultimate disposition of the wheel upon the bases of the shoes.

2. In a lifting jack of the class described, the combination of a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon said frame for movement to elevated and lowered positions, a pair of vehicle wheel engaging shoes carried by the elevator and movable therewith to the elevated and lowered,

shoes are moved toward each other substantially I at ground level.

3. In a lifting jack of the class described, the combination of a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon said frame for movement td'elevated and lowered positions, a pair of vehicle wheel engaging shoes carried by the elevator and movable therewith to the elevated and lowered positions, means for shifting the shoes relatively toward and from one another, each shoe includtoward and from one another, each shoe including a base and a leading toe portion disposable substantially to ground level, and roller means extending across the toe portions of the shoes ahead of the shoe bases, for initially contacting a wheel to be lifted onto the shoe bases as the shoes are moved toward each other substantially at ground level, the roller means of only one shoe having a roughened wheel-engaging surface, to urge onto the roller means of the other shoe the wheel to be lifted.

6. In a liftin jack of the class described, the combination of a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon said frame for movement to elevated and lowered positions, a pair of vehicle wheel engaging shoes carried by the elevator and movabletherewith to the elevated and lowered positions, means for shiftin the shoes relatively toward and from one another, each shoe including a base and a leading toe portion,'a plurality of rollers rotatably supported upon the toe portions of the shoes so as to move in parallelism as the shoes are shifted relatively, said rollers being'disposable substantially at ground level in .the lowered position of the elevator, the shoe base and, rollers of each shoe constituting a plat form inclined to ground level.

7. In a lifting jack of the class described, the combination of a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon said frame for movement toelevated and lowered positions, a pair of vehicle being disposable substantially at ground level in the lowered position of the elevator, the leading roller of one shoe being enlarged in diameter and positions, means for shifting the shoes relatively 10 toward and from one another, each shoe includink a base and 'a leading toe portion, and 'anti-. traction roll-er means at the toe portion of at least one of said shoes to engage the periphery of a '9. In a lifting Jack of the class *cles'cribe'cl;the combination-bf a wheeled frame, an elevator mounted upon "said frame for movement to elee vated and lowered positions, a .pair of vehicle wheel engagin shoes carried by theelevator and movable therewith to the elevated and lowered positions, means for shifting the shoes relatively toward and :from one another, each shoe includ ing a base and a leading toe portion disposable substantially to "ground level, and roller means extending across the toe portion of at least one of the shoes ahead of the shoe base, for initially contacting a wheel to be lifted onto th'eshoe bases as the shoes are moved toward each other -su'b+ wheel and facilitate boosting the wheel onto the 1-5 stanti-ally atlg'round level.

time hea'ses'a's the shoes move toward one another.

- BENJAMIN PHILLIPS. 

